stonecrandall Page 146
Page 146
An hour later, at the entrance of the apartment building where Asagiri lived.
"Here, take my coat."
Asuna Yuuki handed the jacket to Asagiri, and after watching him put it on, she reached out and straightened the collar for him. Then she looked up at Asagiri's face and spoke gently.
"Be careful on the road."
Kato Megumi didn't say a word, but simply handed the bag she needed to carry to school to Asagiri, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and said softly.
"come back earlier."
"Eh, no..."
Kotoko Iwanaga, standing to the side, looked speechless and muttered under her breath.
"You've all finished, what am I supposed to do? At least leave me one thing... Oh right."
Halfway through her speech, Kotoko Iwanaga suddenly seemed to remember something. She ran to the sofa, opened the small, elegant bag she always carried, took out a thick wad of banknotes, and then ran to Asagiri, waved it in front of her, and said with a smile.
"Here, take this and spend it~ There's more if you need it~"
"What are you doing? I want to play too!"
Hat Mita hopped over and took out the Purple Mood again, handing it to Asagiri in a very generous manner.
"Here, take it and use it, don't be shy!"
"You're like that purple mood that's come to life; I even suspect that this thing is your true form."
Asagiri pushed away the purple mood that Hat Mita offered, looked at the four beautiful girls of different types in front of her, and said with a light laugh.
"Okay, I'm going out now."
"Well, be careful."
……
Later that morning, at 8:30 a.m., in the classroom of Class 1-A at the private Shujiwon Academy.
"Ok?"
As Kaguya Shinomiya entered the classroom, she was taken aback to see Asagiri already sitting in the corner. Then, she frowned slightly, walked over quickly, and said softly in a calm and emotionless tone.
"You've come to school?"
"Yes."
"why?"
Upon hearing Kaguya Shinomiya's question, Asagiri feigned surprise.
"What do you mean 'why'? Shinomiya-kun, you don't actually think I got first place in the grade just because I was lucky, do you? Although I possess great talent, I also put in a lot of hard work and sweat that ordinary people can't see! I am a genius of hard work!"
Kaguya Shinomiya frowned even more upon hearing this, and said calmly.
"Don't try to get away with this. You know what I mean."
Asagiri smiled and asked in return.
"You're worried about me, aren't you? You're all tough on the outside but soft on the inside. You're such a tsundere, Shinomiya-kun."
Kaguya Shinomiya pursed her lips, neither replying nor leaving, simply standing quietly in place, seemingly waiting for Asagiri's answer to her question.
"Look, she's standing here like a waiting-for-husband rock again."
Asagiri first chuckled and made a light joke, then took out a familiar object from her bosom and waved it in front of Kaguya Shinomiya.
"I actually came here to play the kazoo."
"How could that be? You wouldn't be that bored..."
Kaguya Shinomiya paused halfway through her speech.
Thinking about it carefully, a normal person might not do something so abstract, but Asagiri really could.
"Just kidding."
Asagiri placed the kazoo on her desk, saying dismissively.
"I just suddenly felt like coming to school."
“Oh, is that so…”
Kaguya Shinomiya nodded noncommittally without saying anything more, and then returned to her seat.
……
During the lunch break that day, in a quiet corner of Shuchiin.
"Tell me, what exactly is that guy thinking?"
Kaguya Shinomiya looked somewhat displeased as she drank her boxed beverage and complained to Chika Fujiwara beside her.
"He just finished his studies at 5 a.m., but he came to class without even taking a nap. He really doesn't take his health seriously."
"Oh~"
Fujiwara Chika spoke in a meaningful tone, having somehow donned a detective hat and put on a pipe and candy, looking as if she had seen through everything. She stared intently at Shinomiya Kaguya's face and asked a crucial question.
"How do you know when Utsunomiya-san beat the game?"
94
Chapter 94 The team's celebration plan.
Faced with Fujiwara Chika's sudden and direct question, Kaguya Shinomiya's red eyes betrayed a hint of panic as she stammered.
"Um... I... well... I just wanted to confirm that he didn't die in the instance. If he did, we'll have to reschedule his campaign speech next Monday."
After saying this, Kaguya Shinomiya nodded vigorously, as if she were trying to convince herself rather than Fujiwara Chika, and emphasized it again.
"Yeah, that's right."
"Oh, so that's it."
Fujiwara Chika nodded noncommittally at first, then suddenly leaned close to Shinomiya Kaguya's face, observing her eyes, and slowly spoke.
"You stayed up late last night, didn't you?"
"I……"
"Alright, let's stop here."
Instead of relentlessly pursuing Kaguya Shinomiya, Fujiwara Chika, with a pipe-shaped candy dangling from her mouth, crossed her legs and spoke in a pretentious manner, as if she had seen through everything.
"Hmph, as a love detective, I've seen through everything! Utsunomiya-kun didn't come to the school because he didn't want to rest; he came specifically to make sure you weren't injured in the dungeon! The innocent and awkward feelings between a young girl and boy... that's love!"
A single glance reveals a thousand flowers; I'm diagnosed with being love-struck.
"You can bring up romance no matter what it is..."
"For high school students, everything revolves around romance!"
"You're quite self-righteous..."
Kaguya Shinomiya shook her head and sighed softly.
"Don't overthink it. Utsunomiya-kun probably just came to discuss something with Ashikaga-sensei. Although he doesn't seem very serious on the surface, since he said he would win the speech contest, then I... believe he will definitely win."
……
Meanwhile, in Ashikaga Miwa's office.
"Tell me about it."
Ashikaga Miwa sat behind a large desk, holding a cup of black coffee. She gently blew on it, watching the black liquid ripple in the cup, but did not drink it. Instead, she put down the coffee cup, looked at Asagiri sitting on a large leather sofa, and raised her hand to push up her glasses.
"What are your plans for next Monday's speech? Based on what I know of you, you're not the type to think you can rest easy and make no plans just because of your special abilities. So, tell me, what do you need me to do?"
Instead of answering Ashikaga Miwa's question directly, Asagiri first asked a question in return.
"Master Ashikaga, what do you think of my impression on the students of Shuchiin?"
"Um……"
Ashikaga Miwa pondered for a moment before finally answering.
"Extremely aggressive personality, abhors unspoken rules, possesses exceptional talent, is arrogant, and is the top genius in the grade. Of course, this is just most people's impression of you. You have many other strengths that those who don't know you are unaware of..."
"Alright, I'm not here to hear compliments. Let's get back to the important stuff."
Asagiri interrupted Ashikaga Miwa with a smile.
"In this election, both I, as the vice president, and Kaguya Shinomiya, who wants to become the student council president, have obvious talents. But what is more obvious is that although we are well-known on campus, we are not very popular. Moreover, neither she nor I are very approachable in the eyes of ordinary students."
"indeed."
Ashikaga Miwa nodded in agreement.
"The position of student council is very special. Although it has a certain degree of power, it is essentially a representative of the students and an organization that exists to solve the students' problems. If the student council president and vice president are the kind of people who are not easy to approach in the eyes of others, it will indeed affect the students' willingness to vote."
"Therefore, we need 'enemies'."
Asagiri tapped her fingers lightly on the glass coffee table and spoke slowly.
"If an external threat arises, students will be more willing to vote for talented people than for so-called affinity. The previous student council president and vice president were very capable, but they cannot compare to me and Kaguya Shinomiya. Furthermore, if an 'enemy' appears, my strong aggressive personality will become an advantage for students to vote for me. In addition, I have an absolute advantage in influencing other people's emotions with words."
Ashikaga Miwa pondered Asagiri's words for a while before speaking.
"So, where does the 'enemy' come from? Shuchiin's position among high schools is unshakeable, not just in Tokyo, but even in the entire Sakura Prefecture."
"It is not necessary to be evenly matched to become 'enemies'."
Asagiri waved her hand and explained with a smile.
"Rather than saying they are evenly matched, it's more accurate to say that being mocked and belittled by someone you consider much weaker than yourself is more likely to provoke anger and other emotions. After all, Shuchiin High School is also a group of high school students, at the age when their self-esteem is at its strongest."
"Then which schools do you think are more suitable as 'enemies'?"
Upon hearing Ashikaga Miwa's question, Asagiri answered without hesitation.
"Private Daikoku Gakuen High School and Private Toyonosaki Gakuen are the most suitable schools. After all, they are among the top high schools in Tokyo, so it won't seem too outrageous to people."
"Private Daikoku and Toyonosaki... Indeed, both schools are excellent. Many top students who failed to get into Shuchiin went to these two schools."
Ashikaga Miwa picked up her coffee cup, took a sip, then looked at Asagiri sitting there and slowly began to speak.
“I understand. I will find a few media outlets and news agencies to write related reports, but the high school students need to know about this first so that you can use it as a topic in your speech on Monday.”
"That doesn't matter. I'll just attract a lot of hatred later. I'm very good at that."
"really."
Ashikaga Miwa smiled slightly and said softly.
"Doing this doesn't break the rules. After all, I didn't give you any help; I just created conditions that would give you a better chance to perform. Even if Shinomiya Hikari finds out, he won't say anything. After all, Kaguya became the student council president. Although that guy has a serious machismo, he wouldn't openly undermine Kaguya, who also has the Shinomiya family name."
After saying this, Ashikaga Miwa sighed.
"Kaguya Shinomiya, Chika Fujiwara, and you—this lineup should have easily won the election. However, as first-year high school students, you haven't accumulated enough popularity and fame, otherwise we wouldn't have had to put in so much effort."
"That's pretty much it."
Asagiri stood up, seemingly unconcerned.
"Those things like covering up traces, not exposing any flaws, and not letting the Shuchiin higher-ups cause trouble for the media, are all entrusted to you. You should know what to do, so I won't say any more."
"Don't worry, I know what to do. Don't underestimate adults."
"Row."
Asagiri waved and said one last thing before leaving the office.
"Oh, right, I'm taking the afternoon off. I'm leaving now, bye-bye."
Asagiri opened the office door and left, Ashikaga Miwa shook her head helplessly.
"This kid is really starting to disregard me, his homeroom teacher."
……
That afternoon, in the shopping district of Shibuya, Tokyo.
"Ice cream, Wuhu~ Ice cream~"
Seeing Hat Mita happily licking the tricolor ice cream scoop, Yuuki Asuna couldn't help but reach out and stroke her head, smiling gently.